Video: The Robin van Persie goal that won the Manchester derby (What was Nasri doing?)

Robin van Persie will score better goals than this, but not many as important. And what the hell was Samir Nasri playing at?

The Dutchman’s strike came at the end of what was a fascinating Manchester derby after the momentum had appeared to shift towards the home side, who had clawed their way back from two Wayne Rooney goals in the first half.

After Rafael was tripped by Carlos Tevez, United’s summer signing stepped up and had his free-kick deflected to the net by Samir Nasri, who we imagine will be the target of a proper rollicking from his manager and team-mates when they see the replay.

As if practically hiding behind the wall wasn’t bad enough, Nasri stuck a lazy left leg at the ball which deflected it beyond the reach of Joe Hart and into the bottom corner, resulting in a vital victory for United and City’s first home loss in nearly two years.

Unfortunately, there were nasty scenes after the goal when Rio Ferdinand was struck with an object thrown from the crowd, an incident which will no doubt lead to an official investigation and it’s a shame because it came at the end of what was a cracking contest between the league’s top two.